On Wednesdays, I highlight some of our amazing MVSD staff on our social media pages. Every day our staff are using tech in new and exciting ways, are learning new skills, and are sharing ways in which ed tech is assisting them in their practice. This week I am excited to showcase an example of how our staff are using digital tools to strengthen literacy. Sophie Thomas, who currently has a Grade 7 French Immersion class at Mackenzie Middle School, is currently supporting their students with written and spoken language fluency. Sophie accessed both Immersive Reader and Dictate features within the Microsoft EDU… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Office 365 Learning Tools
On Tuesdays, I share a Tech Tip on our social media pages to assist our staff in their use of technology as it relates to their role. As we continue our “I Love To Read Month” posts, I want to highlight some of the great accessibility tools built into the Microsoft Office 365 suite that all MVSD staff, students, and families can access. These tools can be one option in your literacy toolkit to assist users in their literacy skills in both classes and their professional roles. The following resources and tutorials can assist you in your understanding of what these can… Read More
The Cell Phone Debate
Apple released its first iPhone in June of 2007, a tech milestone that was overshadowed for me by my graduation from high school. I had no K-12 classroom experience with a smartphone, although my trusty Samsung SCH-A670 was always close at hand. In fact, I was seven months shy of completing my SECOND university degree before I was able to afford my first smartphone (this moment was actually documented on this blog). And while I do not have experience as a youth-learner with a smartphone, I do have experience teaching in the K-12 system with students who have smartphones, experience… Read More
Don’t Stop Accommodations at Exams
On Mondays I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. Final report cards will be sent out in less than three weeks and, for our high schools, graduation events start as early as next week. With this in mind, our schools are in final assessment mode. For some, this looks like the completion of final projects and observations while for others this means final exams. I don’t want to pick on high schools but I find that when it comes to “final exams” there continues to be an unspoken routine stepped… Read More
Assistive Technology is for Everyone
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. Today is one of two division-wide professional development (PD) days in MVSD which will see all school-staff participate in a variety of training sessions hosted at Grandview School. Held virtually for the past few years, this is the first time we will be together face-to-face since 2019. My role will see me working with our middle- and senior-year educational assistants (EAs) in the area of assistive technology. The presentation, which was used in conjunction with live demos, can be viewed below:… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Immersive Reader in Edge
Every Tuesday I share a Tech Tip on our social media pages to assist our staff in their use of technology as it relates to their role. For those that are new to Immersive Reader, this Microsoft assistive tool is compatible with many aspects of your Office 365 suite such as Word, OneNote, Teams, Outlook, and the Microsoft Edge Web Browser. A video introduction hosted via YouTube is shared below: This tool allows users to have any text read aloud to them while changing the style of reading voice and speed, as well as opening up the text in a separate window… Read More
WOW Wednesday – Smith Jackson School
On Wednesdays I highlight some of our amazing MVSD staff on our social media pages. Everyday our staff are using tech in new and exciting ways, are learning new skills, and are sharing ways in which ed tech is assisting them in their practice. I had an opportunity to visit Smith Jackson School yesterday as part of a broader school-sites tour in Dauphin and was welcomed by Tegan Zacharias and her Grade 3 team. During my observation I was thrilled to see one of our EA team, Michelle, move unobtrusively through the room to assist with translation services for new students joining… Read More
Technology Is Not Just A Tool
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. George Couros is no stranger to this blog and the work that both him and his brother, Alec, do in the field of education have influenced me greatly. While this week’s quote can be interpreted multiple ways (like when discussing social media) but I feel like this 2013 TEDx video clip does a good job at providing an overview of George’s perspective: I tend to gravitate back to this quote when introducing assistive technology with staff and this week is one… Read More
Assistive Technology is for Everyone
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. This week’s Mantra is: Today marks the first of two divisional professional development days in MVSD. These PD days see all staff, across all positions, coming together to share and learn together (similar to last year, this is occurring virtually via Teams). While there are other PD days through the year, these two are the only ones that reach all staff with a focus on a central theme. This year our morning speaker is Shelley Moore; this is a continuation of… Read More
Assistive & Adaptive Technology
*This post has been written as part of my professional growth plan through my #ISTE20 scholarship. Accessibility Tools Smackdown Presenters: Karyn Fillhart & Kristin Oropeza Overview: “Karyn is a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, Google certified, former elementary and special education teacher and current tech trainer. Kristin is a Google certified trainer, Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, educator and former special education teacher. Together, you get a smackdown of tools broken down by platform and area of need.” Main Takeaways Microsoft information presented by Karyn and Google information presented by Kristin (both use both platforms and will be comparing and contrasting) Enter all programming design… Read More